Enel. E.ON Trade Power Through Blockchain

German utility E.ON earlier this month traded power with Italian counterpart Enel using a new marketplace based on blockchain technology, E.ON said October 6. The blockchain allows trading partners to conduct deals directly with each other in seconds, which would usually require a central intermediary. Through direct trading, which is exempt from such additional partners, the costs of electricity procurement will also be lowered, benefiting customers, E.ON said.

It said that decentralised energy wholesale was tested last year using a peer-to-peer network developed by the energy IT specialist Ponton. In May 2017, the partners founded the 'Enerchain' initiative, which now includes 33 companies. The aim is to develop a decentralised European marketplace for energy trading and the deal announced was "a significant milestone on the way to achieving this goal," the partners said.

E.ON's chief digital officer Matthew Timms said: "The Enerchain initiative is a good example of open, cross-industry collaboration. We all believe in the enormous potential that Blockchain technology has for the new energy world and especially for our customers."

Blockchain data is modification-proof and it can act as way of recording trades between two parties in a verifiable and permanent way.

William Powell